In our Western society, we most often equate happiness with material things. And we devote our professional and financial lives to growing that happiness exponentially. We’re working so hard to be materially happy that we neglect ourselves, and our health begins to take a bit of a dive.
So what is the Western way when we have an ailment? Find a quick fix. There’s a reason why the pharmaceutical industry has exploded; we want to pop a pill to conceal the pain which does very little (if anything) to fix it. With drug stores on every corner and over-the-counter pain killers outnumbering the produce sections of grocery stores, we have been trained to cover up the pain and not treat the root issue.
What does this have to do with your money?
The short answer: everything. If good health is the root of our happiness, yet we are focused on outer things to make us happy, where does that leave us? And where does that leave our true selves? It leaves us confused, unhappy and starving for something – anything – to fill the void.
So you continue to spend on the things you hope will make you happy. And as you build a financial life filled with worry and uncertainty, you hope that one day things will change for the better. That you’ll find the health and happiness you’ve searched for.
Action step
I believe that health and happiness go hand-in-hand; if you are good in one of those areas, you are most likely good in the other. This week, focus on being happy. When everything seems awful and all you want to do is complain, find something to celebrate.
Happiness is a choice and it’s one that you must make each day. Once you get your happiness in check, you’ll begin to fall in line with your health. And then your relationship with money will change for the better.